


Shocking Temper

by Shutendoujin



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Thoughts, Gen, Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 09:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15816084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shutendoujin/pseuds/Shutendoujin
Summary: (An alternative title; Yellow, Can't You Control Yourself?)Yellow Diamond is the perfect war general, perfect leader and perfect conqueror.But maybe she needs to be less "perfect".





	Shocking Temper

Avoiding their responsibilities as Diamonds made Yellow violent and stressed, so she spent most of the daylight fixing her ship outside, while the inside was curated during the night. Sure, calling a bunch of mechanic gems could be an exit, but she didn't want anyone seeing her interact with the traitorous gems who wrecked havoc in Homeworld’s perfect history.

And even if she was willing to do that, apparently her Interstellar Connection Device wasn't waterproofed enough for Earth’s salty oceans.

So Yellow fixed and fixed, using old databases and logs stored across Pink’s Diamond Base and her own ship log. It was mostly boring and dull, and every day she spent stranded on that hideous rock, under the threat of nuisance by Crystal Gems, humans and a _star damned rebellious cluster_ was enough to surround her gem in a cloud of anger and fury.

And of course, Blue had to be the one to pop it.

“Yellow, why can't you come? They have a type of party going on nearby, and we can go for today to learn more about Pink and her son. They need our company, maybe it'll make him remember something.”

“Remember?!” The dress-clad Diamond jumped when her counterpart punched a clean hole through her ship. Yellow crackled with energy, rage flowing from her form and spanning in a circle around her. “Wake up, Blue! It's clearly not Pink! Pink is gone! And we should go away and ignore her son or… Or whatever that abomination is! And just return when she is here again so we can maybe shove some conscience into that overcooked clod!”

An immediate relief filled the spot the pent-up rage had left. Yellow looked down, removing her arm from the new hole and breathing deeply, recomposing herself into the posture a Diamond should hold. She could feel Blue’s tears starting to collect under her eyelids, and opened her eyes ready to lecture Blue on a correct Diamond posture, and how her little rendezvous was tampering with their return to Homeworld.

But the slap was unexpected. And quite painful.

“You absolute monster!” Blue hands were clad on her thick strand of hair and _oh my star damned supernovas_ , was that the human boy crying his eyes out? “How can we even be the same type gem? I can't believe how cold and cruel you're still being, Yellow! Pink is back, and we have a second chance! And I don't care if it’s Pink or Rose or Steven, I am staying here with them because our stupid uptight attitude of keeping distance led us to all this mess!”

Yellow opened her mouth to disagree with that last line, as they were perfectly fine with White’s Diamond Upbring Program, but Blue beat her to it (thankfully, not physically). “And overcooked? What, did you forget already how awful you felt when White called you a Ruby with defective colors because of your impulsiveness? Or how you were forced to pinpoint all the mistakes on your exit hole when you let that colony collapse on it's own gravitational pull?”

Oh, those occasions. Being called an impetuous and defective Ruby was so usual she didn't even remember, but having to admit and list all of her gem small (but still present) imperfections was a blow on her mind. She couldn't bring herself to order her soldiers for some months, and Blue, ever so gentle and careful, took over her armies and kept her colonies working until she could overcome that episode.

“You really should go back to Homeworld as soon as possible, Yellow. Because if you keep this up there won't be enough shards to pilot your ship.” And with the most hateful gaze Yellow had ever seen, Blue stomped away, stepping onto the warp pad and going somewhere else, shushing the crying human in her bosom.

Yellow was left speechless, the threat of shattering and the pain of the slap dulling in comparison to the painful hole in her chest. Stars, she had gone overboard. Now not only Blue was ready to punch her into another solar system, but the Pink-Human was crying and upset with her. And if somehow Pink could feel or see something too, then she probably made the biggest intergalactic wreck since… Since ever, probably.

“Are you ok?” Since when was the human there? And when did his loud contraption arrive? And why was it nighttime already?

“I'm… Not sure.” The diamond answered, voice raspy and eyes heavy. She probably entered a self-hate state, and somehow sat down with her head between her knees during it. She rested her arms atop her knees and let her head fall back, staring at the waves moving back and forth. The human kept staring, all soft and pudgy. Yellow felt like poking him.

“Steven told me what happened. He isn't mad at you. Just sad. But he's mostly busy trying to keep your friend from barging here. Apparently he can't spot the difference between sad tears and rage tears.” The human laughed, and Yellow let herself chuckle a bit too.

“Then I must teach him to find the difference somewhere else. Blue cries like you humans breathe.” And wasn't she getting used to those human terms? Maybe fixing the ship was less dull when she could hear the humans talking nearby.

They both stared at the crashing waves, contemplating all the possible topics for conversation they could approach. On the end, the first step was human.

“Steven likes you.” His mutter was low, nearly lost amidst seagulls fighting over something on the beach. Taking the silence and the surprised stare as permission, he kept going. “The gems… Sorry, the Crystal Gems made him feel loved and special, but they only knew about Rose Quartz. They all saw Rose as a leader, and Steven as… A brother, a protegée, maybe a substitute?”

Yellow Diamond scowled, diamond-shaped pupils staring at his soul. But amazingly, he didn't shift a centimeter. “And what does he feels referring to us?”

“You two knew Pink. And Pink was a side of his mother he never knew. So he wants to know more about her. And… Everyone can see how much you two cared for Pink. It's something like a motherly love.” Motherly. That term wasn't so odd for Yellow, as sometimes fixing was too much and she spent time looking up human terms in order to don't sound stupid in front of the hybrid.

“So he sees us as potential mothers?” She hoped it wasn't a stupid question. Maybe it was, if the human laughs were anything to go by. “Answer at once, human.”

“Bossy, aren't you?” And wasn't that a Pink attitude. “No, he sees both of you as grandmothers. A whole different league of sentimental possibilities and bondings. He wants to be close to you, Yellow. He just doesn't know how to approach when you end up breaking stuff around him.”

Oh. That day was an accident, and she didn't mean to upset the human, but he had to understand that something made to purposefully scare her was fated to be grinded into dust. He didn't seem to be fazed, but he wasn't his happy self when he told his female companion about the fate of the ‘jack-in-the-box’.

“I must admit I am to blame in this case.” Yellow closed herself a bit more, disappointed with herself. She had dreamed of seeing Pink again, of being a better gem so Pink could give her one more sweet smile. And she had the opportunity now, but all she did was repeat her actions. “I feel lost, Greg. I know how to battle, how to judge, but I don't know how to bond. That was always Pink’s strength.”

Silence set over them like a thick aura, and she let herself wallow in disappointment again. Her opportunities were gone, and she was the one to blame, like always. She should hurry and fix her ship and go away, and ignore Blue and Pink for everyone's sake. It would hurt her loved ones less, and it would make her faster, more productive and would expand Homeworld’s power.

“Tell him stories.” Pulled out of her session of self-hate, Yellow refocused on the human, who gave the beach an empty stare. “Tell him about colonies, about your interactions with Pink, about funny moments and how your colonies were made. Tell him anything, and he's gonna love it.”

“Why?” Her voice was even more rough, her eyes damp with tears, and somewhere, she felt Blue crying too.

“Because he'll understand you. Your needs, your ideals. He wants to be your friend, Yellow. Show him, I don't know, footage of Pink, maybe? Pictures of colonies, even teach him how to make a Diamond log. Any interaction is interaction.” The sky changed colors slightly, and a warm purple found space on the horizon. Greg yawned, and Yellow almost felt bad for keeping the human up all night.

"Well, I am not used to doing any of those things, but I will certainly try." She wiped the falling tears, giving the human a grateful smile. "Thank you for your help, hu-"

A warp sound broke them out of the bubble, and all Yellow had as warning was the heavy stomping and the uncontrollable sobs of her counterpart. A broken “YELLOW!” and she was nearly thrown on the ground with the force of Blue's hug. “Yellow, I'm so sorry! I hurt you and I made you feel bad and please forgive me! I was terribly impulsive, I'm the wrong-colored Ruby!”

Yellow sighed, rubbing the bare shoulders of Blue while shushing the crying Diamond. “It's fine. I'm not hurt or sad, just disappointed with myself. I'm sorry I was rude and dismissive, Blue. I'll make it up for you.” The sobbing stopped, and Blue stared at her. 

“You're apologizing? Who are you and where is the real Yellow?” The laughing tone gave Yellow some relief, but that didn't stop her from giving Blue a light push. “What is this? Is Earth making you all soft, Yellow ‘apologies aren't on my duties’ Diamond?”

Why did she have to remind her of that terrible catchphrase. “Oh, shush it before I throw you on the ocean, Blue!” Both gems were chucking now, and that felt like an accomplishment.

“Well, I’m glad you two are fine again.” Oh, right, the human. He was standing near his father, all moving hands and anxiety. He looked so much like Pink. Hoping for the best, trying to make everyone happy. Like the last time they were together, a month before her-

No. She wasn't there, but she wasn't shattered. And until she reformed, Yellow could try bonding with that little human. “So, Steven.” He straightened his back, peeking nervously at Yellow. “It came to my attention you don't follow any Diamond tradition.”

Yellow got up, mostly to avoid the heavy stare Blue was giving her, but also to display herself properly. “Uhm, that's true. I thought I was a Rose Quartz until not long ago, so…”

“Nonsense.” She did feel bad with the way he gulped, but the smile creeping into her face was hard to hold. “You need to learn everything quickly. You are very behind schedule, and thus, we need to hurry up. First you must learn about your mother, then about what we knew about her powers, and maybe we could see all the times she did something quite ridiculous while recorded.”

Blue and Steven were staring avidly at her, the first with concern but the latter with those sparkly and excited eyes. “Then, learning gem terms, a quick explanation of facets, cuts and cabochons, and for last you'll make your first Diamond log. What do you say?”

“It sounds AWESOME!” And with a giddy jump, he landed on Yellow’s shoulder, jumping and laughing with happiness. “Are we gonna see other gems? And pictures of mom? And can you tell me more about those buildings at Homeworld?” Blue was already at her side, happy and with her proud smile.

“But of course! You must catch up soon! You have so much to learn, Steven, you might just stay the whole month here with us!” Her pride was clearly showing, and she felt like a big buffoon, but that smile so similar to Pink’s made her slight embarrassment worth it.

“And I can bring you food, Stu-ball!” The human yelled from his object, giving a thumb up for the boy. The human grinned and made the same gesture back.

“Shall we go? We must start at once! Come, Blue, you will help me too! He needs to know everything we can teach him!” Opening the door to her ship, she waited until Blue was inside, before flashing a quick smile for the human outside and closing the door.

“Man, these gems need some therapy.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a personal headcannon that Yellow, while extremely rude sometimes, has a shitton of guilt and can't really express it like Pink or Blue.
> 
> And that Greg is nearly taking therapy classes to help all the fucked up gems his son collects. Oh boy.


End file.
